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It was at the dawn of the 18^th century that the story began.

The north of the Médoc peninsular offered exciting investment opportunities for the high society of the time, and Jean-François de Pontet figured among the aristocrats and high-ranking magistrates that shaped the vast horizons of the new Médoc.

Having made his career at Versailles he was appointed Grand Squire of France under Louis XV, and then, after settling in Guyenne, he became the governor of the Médoc. In 1705, he brought together a few acres of land to the north of the village of Pauillac and with them created a vineyard; and then, in 1757, he acquired an estate in a small area known as Canet.

Following the custom of the time, he joined his surname to that of the estate. Thus, in 1781, Château Pontet-Canet was born.

A century later, Château Pontet-Canet was enjoying an extraordinary period of prosperity. The famous classification of 1855, ordered by Emperor Napoleon III, brought the estate recognition. Château Pontet-Canet now figured on the list of Médoc Grands Crus Classés.

This rise to fame was quickly spotted by one of the most influential Bordeaux négociants of the time, Henri Herman Cruse, who went on to acquire the estate in 1865. A man with great vision, he modernised the property’s infrastructures and in 1895 hired Charles Skawinski, a highly respected estate manager in the Médoc, to create “revolutionary” cellars. Thanks to this ambassador’s tireless efforts, the wines of Pontet-Canet acquired a reputation of high quality and integrity throughout the world.

In 1975, the estate was purchased by Guy Tesseron, a wine grower and négociant in Cognac.

In 1994, Guy entrusted the management of the estate to his son Alfred Tesseron, who had worked alongside him for twenty years. Uncompromising on quality and an ardent critic of the established conventions and wisdom of the time, he tried to choose growing practices that took into account the sensitivities of the vine plant while adapting vinifications to the individual terroir expression of the estate’s different plots. These practices, perfectly in tune with nature, were to become a viticultural model which would be emulated by numerous estates. Gérard Tesseron, his brother, was his most faithful support throughout his entire life, and thus played a key part in Pontet-Canet’s fabulous destiny.

Pontet-Canet, the first renowned large-scale Bordeaux wine estate to venture into organic and biodynamic farming, was also the first among the Grands Crus Classés to be awarded double certification for the whole vineyard.

Vintage:

Spring came early and invited the vines to grow strongly. The hot, dry weather brought a smile to the winegrowers’ faces, keeping disease at bay and raising hopes of an early harvest, often one of the keys to a very good vintage. Flowering took place particularly early, around mid-May, in very dry weather which often meant sparse clusters and small berries. Then nature changed its plans and sent us a muted summer, though we still nurtured the hope of a true Bordeaux vintage, mature but fresh and well-balanced. Showers throughout September raised fears of a threat to the health of the crop, but a timely Indian summer stabilised the situation. The grapes had to be sorted, of course, but our facilities have two sorting lines for precisely that purpose. Ultimately, the grapes that went into the vats were perfectly healthy and fully ripe. As in previous years, extraction was especially easy. More anecdotally, more than half the crop reached the winery in trailers drawn by our draft horses who, the rest o

Description:

Nose: The wine has great depth of colour and a fresh, incredibly pure nose which pleasantly combines minerality, fruit aromas and floral notes. 

Taste: Energetic and with fabulous substance, it displays consummate balance on the palate, with a magical radiance and a taffeta mouthfeel. Fruit, tannins and acidity all combine harmoniously. The magical encounter of a great terroir and biodynamics. A new masterpiece!